8/12/2019 574-574-1-PB Review of History of Molecular Biology by Michel Morange

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BOOK REVIEWS COM PTES RENDUS

History of Molecular BiologyMichel Morange (translated by Matthew Cobb)Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1998,336 p, US 19.95This is a fascinating historical review of molecular biology. Although intendedfor the general reader, many such would find it somewhat heavy going, andthose with a scanty science background would do well to read the short appen-dix which defines basic terminology, before getting into a serious read. Thewriting is generally smooth, and the translation (by Mathew Cobb) is excellent;with only occasional errors (Gerty Cori is referred to as Getty). Professor Mor-ange covers the period of around 1940 to 1990, but with appropriate deference toearlier pioneer work, such as that of Archibald Garrod. The book chapters aredivided among three sections; the first dealswith the birth of molecular genetics,the second with its development, and the third with its expansion. There is alucid exposition of the concept of split genes, infrons and exons, and of thedevelopment of the polymerasechain reaction (PCR). The author does not pro-ceed in strict sequential chronologic order, but addresses a different theme ineach chapter. his allows for some-selective reading and a minor degree of rep-etition, but this does not intrude for the ongoing reader and most would bene-fit from reading the whole book.

n enormous amount of detail is provided, and the book is extensively anno-tated with references and highly readable notes, which are commendably easy tofind from the text, though it is unfortunate that none of the annotations, many ofwhich include useful additional information and comments, are referenced inthe index. Professor Morange has an extensive and wide-ranging knowledge ofhis subject, and the book is peppered with short but illuminating vignettes of theprincipal players in the development of molecular biology. These include com-ments that reflect the personality, approach and philosophy of some of the mainprotagonists. To give two examples, Delbrhck encouraged his researchers tospend at least one day a week away from the bench to think about their exper-iments, and encouraged lively group discussion and criticism; Monod was alsoa keen and vocal participant in sociavpolitical affairs, especially those with abiologic flavour, such as the campaign for contraception in France.Credit is given to the role and input of the intellectual giants of this period inmolecular biology, such as Delbrhck, Pauling, Lederberg, and Dobzhansky.chapter is devoted to the role of the Rockefeller Foundation in the 1930s and1940s in promoting the application of the new techniques of physics and chem-istry to biologic problems. Another chapter is devoted to a discussion of the

8/12/2019 574-574-1-PB Review of History of Molecular Biology by Michel Morange

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BOOKREVIEWS / COMPTES RENDUS 2 3important stimulus provided to the early studies in molecular biology by physi-cists such as Niels Bohr, Szilard, Gamow, Schrodinger and Delbrhck. (It mayalso be noted in this regard that Crick was a physicist by training.) The influenceand impact of the migration of scientists from Europe to the U.S. before andshortly afterWWII is also acknowledged.

The book provides some interesting points of discussion on the appropriate-ness and timeliness of recognition provided in the form of a Nobel prize. Thussome conjecture is provided as to why Kornberg received a Nobel prize for hisdiscovery of DNA polymerase some years before Watson and Crick received aNobel award for their celebrated double helix model ofDNA structure. The con-troversial role played by Rosalind Franklin in the determination of DNA struc-ture is also discussed. It is ironic that her work was critically important in thedetermination of the double helix structure (she was a first class experimentalistand was responsible for the conclusion that the sugar-phosphate groups werelocated on the outside of the molecule. Watson and Crick on the other hand, didnot personally carry out a single experiment on DNA in the building of theirmodel structure.) By all accounts, Rosalind Franklin was not an easy personwith whom to work, and this feature probably played a major role in her exclu-sion from recognition among the ~ o b e lrize winning tea .Morange also examines and explains the reason that Oswald Avery wasnot awarded a Nobel prize for his careful and painstaking work in showing thetransmissible genetic material to be DNA and not protein, (as was generallybelieved at the time). In retrospect, his lack of recognition is attributable to thecombination of his cautious and retiring nature, plus the fact that the scientificcommunity was not ready to accept his conclusion. (Incidentally, Morange refersto Avery as an American, whereas he was actually Canadian-born and spenthis boyhood in Halifax, Nova Scotia.)This bookwillbe read with profit by all those interested or involved in the areaof molecular biology who wish to fill in possible lacunae in their background his-torical knowledge, or to explore the interrelationships and interactions of theirintellectual forebears.J PHILIP WEL H alhousie University